In recent years, the in-home broadcast TV market has been dominated by broadcast content providers, such as cable, satellite and fiber (e.g., Cox, Comcast, Verizon FiOS, Dish, or DirecTV), who offer premium content subscriptions. The premium content subscriptions often come in packages with many channels that offer content that costs more to view than basic packages. These broadcast providers typically control their own broadband networks over which the content is delivered. Broadcast providers may also provide IP based content delivery in addition to the traditional broadcast content delivery.
There is a shift in the industry to over the top (OTT) content providers such as Netflix, Redbox Instant and Amazon instant video, which use the Internet to deliver content. OTT content providers are another example of IP based content delivery. These OTT content providers are independent of broadband Internet service providers or the broadcast content providers and allow the OTT content provider's content to be viewed anywhere a user has an Internet connection and access to the OTT content provider. Because these OTT content providers do not control the broadband networks or the Internet over which their content is delivered, the content delivery is typically based on a “best effort” network performance and content reproduction quality may be impacted.
These various different content providers offer different ranges/levels/packages of content, depending on their contractual arrangements with the actual sources, suppliers or creators of the content. For example, IP based content delivery services do not always provide the same level of premium content as the traditional broadcast content providers because the security of the IP based content is not as strong as the security of the traditional broadcast content providers' content; and therefore the suppliers of the actual premium content may prefer the IP providers not deliver their most valuable content (e.g. current and desirable content). The IP based content delivery services often have an extensive library of on-demand and multicast content, but may not offer the most valuable premium content.
Increasingly, broadcast content providers also offer an option to view recorded, on-demand or streaming premium content within the vicinity of the home, for example, on a computer, tablet or smartphone via an in-home Wi-Fi link. The broadcast content providers control the access location by requiring that the content is delivered via a broadband wireless router connected to a broadband modem that can be validated as located in the house. While the terms home or house most commonly refer to a user's residence, they may also refer to an office; a school; a store; a vehicle such as a car, a truck, a tractor trailer or a recreational vehicle (RV); or any other location that represents the user's primary viewing area.
One reason broadcast content providers do not provide premium content outside the home is to protect the rights of the broadcast content providers, as well as the rights of content producers (e.g., HBO, Showtime, etc.), by not providing the premium content to be viewed by multiple people at multiple locations, including unknown locations, simultaneously. That is, broadcast content providers are unable to reliably authenticate and validate who is authorized to view the premium content. End users, however, increasingly want to view content they pay for wherever and whenever they desire.
One technique of extending the viewing of premium content from a subscriber's home to other locations is via a product called “Slingbox.” The Slingbox solution allows the premium content to be decoded at the original location (subscriber home) using the subscriber's access right or credentials for the subscription associated with the home, and then the premium content is sent via IP to the other location to be viewed. In this case the content can be viewed at the original location even though it is also “slung” to the other location.
The other current approach for extending the viewing of premium content to other locations is via a TV Everywhere strategy offered by broadcast content providers and even some content producers. This TV Everywhere strategy makes premium content available online, but behind a login wall where the broadcast content provider or content producer can reliably authenticate and validate the user as authorized to view the premium content to paying subscribers. In some situations, this premium content is delivered directly as an app on a smartphone or available via a web browser from a user terminal, such as a computer or tablet.
Alternate technologies that allow a user to temporarily move access to premium content from the vicinity of a home to another location outside the vicinity of the home while adequately protecting the rights of the broadcast content provider would be desirable.